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Justin Ryburn @justinryburn.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

“On Fire” – John O’Leary The core of O’Leary’s narrative isn't just the fire itself; it is the agonizing months and years that followed. He endured dozens of surgeries, amputations to his fingers, and the excruciating daily ritual of having dead skin scrubbed from his raw body. In the book,…

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“On Fire” – John O’Leary

The core of O’Leary’s narrative isn't just the fire itself; it is the agonizing months and years that followed. He endured dozens of surgeries, amputations to his fingers, and the excruciating daily ritual of having dead skin scrubbed from his raw body. In the book, O'Leary writes about a pivotal moment in the hospital when his mother asked him, 'John, do you want to die? It’s okay if you do.' When he signaled that he didn't, she replied, 'Then you have to fight. You have to take the hand of God, and you have to fight.' That moment encapsulates the central theme of the book: adversity is inevitable, but victimhood is optional. The fire forced O'Leary to realize that while he had absolutely no control over the circumstances that befell him, he had total control over his response to them. The tragedy didn't break him; it burned away the non-essentials, revealing a core of steel he never knew he possessed.

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